by Joy Esiemokhai
“The hearts I have touched will be the proof that I leave that I made a difference,” sings Beyoncé in her song titled “I was Here.”
Those lyrics proved true as the University of West Georgia’s department of mass communications held a candlelight vigil in honor of Dr. Wendell Corbin Stone, a UWG mass communications faculty member who passed away this past summer. Faculty, students and staff gathered to celebrate the life of a man fondly remembered for his friendliness and compassion for others. The candlelight vigil was organized as part of UWG’s Suicide Prevention Week to raise awareness for the cause.
Dr. Stone started his academic career in at Vanderbilt University, graduating cum laude from with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1980. He received a master’s degree in communication from Georgia State University in 1996 and a doctorate in theatre from Louisiana State University in 2001. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at Ohio State University, Dr. Stone joined UWG in 2002 as an instructor of public speaking and theatre.
His enthusiasm and humor endeared him to his students, who remember him as someone who always took time to encourage them to follow their dreams.
“Dr. Stone was not only my public speaking professor and advisor; most importantly, he was my friend,” said Dani Harling, an alumna of the class of 2014. “I would drop by his office to say hello and sometimes those visits will turn into two-hour conversations. He always gave me words of encouragement and became one of my biggest supporters.”
His caring nature was not just remembered fondly by his students but also his colleagues.
“For as long as Wendell was at UWG, he and I would have daily conversations about students, world events and life,” recalled Dr. Bruce Daniel, a fellow mass communications faculty member and close friend of Dr. Stone's. “These conversations always left me feeling uplifted and willing to make it through another day.”
In 2007, Dr. Stone became the coordinator of the speech communication program at UWG, overseeing all speech courses at UWG. Not one to rest on his oars, in 2008, he obtained a master’s degree in library sciences from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia. The following year, he took over as organizer of UWG’s annual Gibson Public Speaking Competition, named in honor of Dr. Chester Gibson who served the UWG in various capacities, including as debate coach and chair, for over 20 years.
“Formally, he was my immediate supervisor as the coordinator of the speech communication faculty,” said Dr. Gail Reid, a colleague of Dr. Stone's in the mass communications department, in her eulogy of him. “Informally, he was one of my best friends, my mentor and my sounding board for ideas, goals and dreams both professionally and personally.”
“He was a humble scholar--I teased him that he was a professional student. Sometimes I even stretched his willingness to learn,” she continued, highlighting Dr. Stone's passion for learning and sharing.
“I want to leave my footprints on the sands of time; know there was something that meant something that I left behind,” ring the opening lines of Beyoncé’s “I was Here.” The fond memories of friends, students, fellow faculty and most of all, his family, prove that Dr. Stone left an indelible mark in the lives all those he met. Rest in peace.
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